Research Question: What trends have occurred in school equity in light of the NCLB act? Contributed by: Jay Fogleman
Paige, Rod (2007). The No Child Left Behind Act Protects the Right of All Students to Receive a Quality Education.. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, Retrieved November 21, 2007, from Opposing Viewpoints.
Rod Paige, Republican and former Secretary of Education, argues for the benefits of the No Child Left Behind Act for all students. He begins about pointing out that the desire that all students in America have access to high-quality schools is a bi-partisan issue. Paige uses the metaphor of a swiftly flowing river to illustrate the power of reforms backed by Federal legislation. NCLB differs from previous legislation in its specific goals and benchmarks that indicate success. A different approach is needed because of the poor performance of many of our schools. Paige points out that in addition to their overall poor performance, schools are especially detrimental to minority students:
"There is also a persistent achievement gap between ethnic groups. While 40% of white fourth-graders read at or above the proficient level, only 12% of blacks and 16% of Hispanics perform as well. The situation is not better in high school. Our high school seniors scored lower on the 2000 NAEP math assessment than their predecessors in 1996. And, although more children are attending college, nearly a third of our college freshmen must take remedial courses. Minority students are taking more courses that will prepare them for college-level work. The performance of most minority groups is still measurably lower than that of whites, and an achievement gap between minority and disadvantaged students and their peers endures despite billions spent trying to close it."
NCLB will help eliminate these gaps by requiring that students be assessed at frequent intervals and by holding schools accountable for the performance of all students based on these measures.
I think that Paige's argument, on its surface, is sensible. Schools (and teachers and families) should commit themselves to the success of all students. But I also see that there are some established problems that I'm not sure if NCLB addresses. If these problems are not addressed, then I can see that NCLB can have detrimental effects on the children it supposedly is designed to advance. The first of these problems is the role that the high-stakes testing actually has. Paige suggests...
Contributed by: Jay Fogleman
Paige, Rod (2007). The No Child Left Behind Act Protects the Right of All Students to Receive a Quality Education.. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, Retrieved November 21, 2007, from Opposing Viewpoints.
Rod Paige, Republican and former Secretary of Education, argues for the benefits of the No Child Left Behind Act for all students. He begins about pointing out that the desire that all students in America have access to high-quality schools is a bi-partisan issue. Paige uses the metaphor of a swiftly flowing river to illustrate the power of reforms backed by Federal legislation. NCLB differs from previous legislation in its specific goals and benchmarks that indicate success. A different approach is needed because of the poor performance of many of our schools. Paige points out that in addition to their overall poor performance, schools are especially detrimental to minority students:
"There is also a persistent achievement gap between ethnic groups. While 40% of white fourth-graders read at or above the proficient level, only 12% of blacks and 16% of Hispanics perform as well. The situation is not better in high school. Our high school seniors scored lower on the 2000 NAEP math assessment than their predecessors in 1996. And, although more children are attending college, nearly a third of our college freshmen must take remedial courses. Minority students are taking more courses that will prepare them for college-level work. The performance of most minority groups is still measurably lower than that of whites, and an achievement gap between minority and disadvantaged students and their peers endures despite billions spent trying to close it."
NCLB will help eliminate these gaps by requiring that students be assessed at frequent intervals and by holding schools accountable for the performance of all students based on these measures.
I think that Paige's argument, on its surface, is sensible. Schools (and teachers and families) should commit themselves to the success of all students. But I also see that there are some established problems that I'm not sure if NCLB addresses. If these problems are not addressed, then I can see that NCLB can have detrimental effects on the children it supposedly is designed to advance. The first of these problems is the role that the high-stakes testing actually has. Paige suggests...